Feb. 16, 2008
UCF 7, Kentucky 2
UCF 1, Hawaii 3
Manoa, Hawaii (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF softball team opened day two of the Hawaii Paradise Classic with a 7-2 win over Kentucky Friday afternoon before falling to No. 16 Hawaii, 3-1, in the nightcap at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Allison Kime (Brandon, Fla.) and Breanne Javier (Castaic, Calif.) led the Knights at the plate with three hits a piece on the day, while Kime improved her record to 4-1 on the season with the win in the circle over the Wildcats.
UCF moved their record to 5-3 on the year and are the #2 seed in the tournament with a 2-1 record. The Black and Gold will face #3 seeded Long Beach State Saturday at 3 p.m. ET and, depending on the outcome of the game, will play at either 7 p.m. ET or 9 p.m. ET. Top-seeded Hawaii will face the #4 seed Kentucky at 5 p.m. ET.
In game one versus Kentucky, seven different Knights scored a run in the contest, while six players recorded at least one hit for the Black and Gold, which included a solo home run by Lindsay Dean (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the third inning. Kime paced the team with two hits and freshman Abby McClain (Waterloo, Iowa) added a career-high three RBI.
Kime picked up her fourth win of the season and the second of the tournament after holding the Wildcats scoreless through four innings, allowing only one hit while striking out three. Diana Rojas (Miami, Fla.) pitched three solid innings of relief for UCF, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out one.
Dean put the Knights on the board in the third inning with a solo home run over the wall in left-center field, before the second and third runs of the inning crossed thanks to a trio of miscues by the Wildcats. A sacrifice fly from Javier plated run number four and a two-RBI single to left center field by McClain put the Black and Gold ahead 6-0 going into the bottom of the third inning.
A pair of singles courtesy of Javier and Kime, a sacrifice bunt by Brittany Hipple and a sacrifice fly from McClain brought around the Knights' seventh and final run of the game in the fifth inning.
In game two, Hawaii opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but UCF put one across in the fourth inning following singles by both Javier and Kime and a deep sacrifice fly to right field by Cat Snapp (Niceville, Fla.) to cut the Rainbow Wahine lead in half.
After scoring its third run of the game in the fifth, Hawaii loaded the bases with two outs, but starting pitcher Ashleigh Cole (Pace, Fla.) got out of the jam by striking out Valana Manuma, her third strikeout of the inning and eighth of the contest. The sophomore finished the game with nine strikeouts, allowing five hits and three runs in six innings of work. She fell to 0-2 on the season with the loss.
Season tickets for the 2008 season are now available and can be purchased by calling 407-UCF-1000. For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pics
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